Opening Word
The Saint Peter's women's basketball team will host their hOURglass rival, the Monmouth Hawks, on Friday, January 26. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Yanitelli Center.

All-Time vs The Hawks Sunday marks the 36th meeting all-time against Monmouth. The Hawks hold the 23-12 all-time series lead over the Peacocks.

Last Time We Met Saint Peter's fell to Monmouth, 51-44 on January 7 in West Long Branch. Talah Hughes led the Peacocks with 13 points. Alyssa Velles followed with 11 points, Zoe Pero added 10 points and Dajiah Martin led with 10 rebounds.

Scout on the Hawks
Monmouth currently has an overall record of 5-13 with a conference record of 3-4. On January 22, Monmouth defeated Iona, 68-56, Kayla Shaw led with 16 points and Rosa Graham followed with 12 points.

Rookie Double-Digit Club
Shooting guard, Haley Dalonzo scored a career high 21 points, leading the Peacocks in a loss against FDU on December 21. Power forward, Dajiah Martin scored 10 points on December 7 against UMass Lowell. Freshman point guard, D'Aviyon Magazine, posted her career high of 12 points in a matchup against Lafayette on November 12, knocking down three three-pointers in the process.

1,000 Point Club
Senior forward, Sajanna Bethea scored her 1,000th career point on December 10 at UMass. Bethea became the 20th member of the 1,000 point club and she is the first Peacock to surpass 1,000 career points since 2008-09.

Senior forward, Talah Hughes is looking to become the second Peacock this season to surpass 1,000 career points. Hughes currently has 982 points.

Saint Peter's returned nine players and added an additional five freshman to the team this year:

Returning Power ForwardsSam Meier (Manalapan, NJ / Manalapan) started in 25 games last season. Meier averaged 2.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Meier notched a season-high of 10 points last season against Fairleigh Dickinson on December 13, 2016.

Sophomore, Zoe Pero (Secaucus, NJ / St. John Vianney) appeared in 30 games, including 15 starts. Pero recorded eight games in double figures, including tying her career-high of 18 points on three occasions (vs. Niagara on December 30, at Canisius on February 16, and at Iona on February 22). Pero averaged seven points and 4.5 rebounds a game.

Sophomore, Brianna Tarabochia (Woodcliff Lake, NJ / Northern Valley Demarest) appeared in all 30 games, including six starts. Tarabochia recorded a career-high 11 points against Maryland on December 8, 2016.

Sophomore, Ashlie Howell (Bronx, NY / Christ the King) appeared in 21 games. Howell recorded her career-high of six points three times last season.

Returning Guards
Senior, Talah Hughes (Beacon,NY / Beacon) started in all 30 games last season, recording 21 games with at least 10 points and two 20-point games. Hughes paced the team with 45 assists and scored a career-high 22 points against Manhattan on January 22nd. Last season, she averaged 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, posting in double figures 22 times.

Senior, Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, PA / Pennsbury) appeared in 26 games including 18 starts in the previous season. Bethea notched a career-high of 26 points against Bowling Green on November 27, 2016. Bethea average 9.3 points and six rebounds last season.

Sophomore, Sammy Lochner (Abington, PA / Abington) appeared in all 30 games recording 28 starts as a freshman point guard. Lochner averaged 5.7 points a game and recorded a season-high of 18 points against Marist on March 2nd.

Pat Coyle is in her fifth season as head coach. In 2016-17, Coyle led the Peacocks to their best conference start under her lead, winning two of the first three MAAC games. She also earned her second career win over MAAC powerhouse Marist, giving Saint Peter's their first road win over Marist in 15 years. In 2016-17 Coyle coached her second MAAC All-Rookie selection in Zoe Pero. During her second season in 2014-15, the Peacocks defeated the defending league champion, Marist in the regular season and advanced to the MAAC Quarterfinals. Sajanna Bethea became the first player under Coyle to earn all-league recognition with MAAC All-Rookie honors in 2014-15 and as an All-MAAC Preseason second-team selection in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Prior to Saint Peter's, Coyle served as assistant coach at Pittsburg from 2010-12, where she helped advance the Panthers to the Big East Tournament second round in her first season. For more than 10 years Coyle coached the WNBA's New York Liberty, including five seasons as head coach. As assistant coach the Liberty recorded a record of 181-187 and a 81-89 mark as head coach.

Coyle returned to the MAAC after coaching Loyola from 1993-98 where she guided them to their only two MAAC championships and NCAA appearances.

A 1982 Rutgers Hall of Fame player, Coyle returned to her alma mater to serve as an assistant coach in 1985-89. Coyle helped the Scarlet Knights to a 110-19 including two trips to "Elite 8" and two appearances in the "Sweet 16."

Coyle finished her career with 1,209 points and currently ranks 23rd in team history. As a three-year-starter, she also registered 382 rebounds, 394 assists and 192 steals in 129 career games. She is a member of the united States Olympic Festival gold medal women's basketball team in 1979 and 1980 and also won a gold medal at the 1980 Pan American Games.

Phyllis Mangina begins her fifth season as an women's basketball assistant coach under Pat Coyle in 2016-17.

Mangina returned to the coaching ranks after retiring as the women's basketball head coach at Seton Hall in 2010. Mangina was the women's basketball head coach at Seton Hall for 25 seasons where she won more than 340 games and coached three honorable mention All-Americans and 18 All-Big East selections. She guided Seton Hall to two NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).

A standout point guard with the Pirates from 1977-81, Mangina led Seton Hall to a 93-28 mark during her four-year playing career. Mangina held the Pirate records in career assists (441), assists in a season (151) and career steals (269). She is currently 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1,195 points. Mangina was one of 13 former Pirate student-athletes inducted into the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame.

Former player, Antonia Smith, will enter into her second season as assistant coach at Saint Peter's. Smith returns to her alma mater after serving as the U12 girls head coach of New Heights AAU travel team. Prior to becoming the head coach with the New Heights, she served as the assistant coach at Dwight School, during the 2015-16 season.

Smith played guard at Saint Peter's from 2011-15, appearing in 108 games over her four-year career, making 55 starts. She scored 728 career points, had 161 assists, grabbed 269 rebounds, and had 56 steals during her playing career. Smith recorded a career-high 26 points against Marist on Jan. 23, 2014.